Scan barcode
A review by alexcarbonneau
Cry Father by Benjamin Whitmer
4.0
First of all, this novel ain't for the faint of heart. It is pure grit, violence, and anti every clichés you can think of.
The author made damn sure to strip his novel bare of any polished stuff, pre-chewed setups and threw every Big5 publisher molds in a pit, spit on 'em and set fire to the whole damn thing.
Let me be crystal clear. Benjamin Whitmer writes to another level of grit. There's grit, and there's Ben-Whitmer-Grit, with a freaking huge Capital G.
I first heard of Whitmer with an essay he wrote that David Joy shared on social media. An essay about unlikable/unlovable characters. Cry father helped me put some meat on the whole concept. It also helps the belief that I have that not anyone can write Grit like Whitmer and Joy do. You can spot a fake wannabe a thousand miles from here, someone who just wants to add fucks and meth and damn and coke and whiskey to his/her word count and therefore creates a very cliché canvas. Ben Whitmer sure ain't one of those. To paraphrase a review I read about another book recently, he belongs at a table where few gets to sit. Cormac, Woodrell, Joy, Ron Rash, William Gay, Pollock and Larry Brown.
Will wait impatiently for the next one, and in the meantime, Pike is at arm length.
The author made damn sure to strip his novel bare of any polished stuff, pre-chewed setups and threw every Big5 publisher molds in a pit, spit on 'em and set fire to the whole damn thing.
Let me be crystal clear. Benjamin Whitmer writes to another level of grit. There's grit, and there's Ben-Whitmer-Grit, with a freaking huge Capital G.
I first heard of Whitmer with an essay he wrote that David Joy shared on social media. An essay about unlikable/unlovable characters. Cry father helped me put some meat on the whole concept. It also helps the belief that I have that not anyone can write Grit like Whitmer and Joy do. You can spot a fake wannabe a thousand miles from here, someone who just wants to add fucks and meth and damn and coke and whiskey to his/her word count and therefore creates a very cliché canvas. Ben Whitmer sure ain't one of those. To paraphrase a review I read about another book recently, he belongs at a table where few gets to sit. Cormac, Woodrell, Joy, Ron Rash, William Gay, Pollock and Larry Brown.
Will wait impatiently for the next one, and in the meantime, Pike is at arm length.